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Park Jimin of BTS let his fans have a sneak peek at his upcoming music, Closer Than This, as he grooved to it for an Instagram reel on December 20, 2023. With the song release slated for December 22, fans have been gearing up so that they can stream it relentlessly and break records.
Now, American hip-hop record writer and audio engineer Ayo The Producer, has also become a topic of discussion thanks to his latest post on Instagram, where he uploaded the dance reel of Jimin on Closer Than This. The post was captioned:
"Beyond blessed to be part of this one!! Ending the year w/a special one. @bts.bighitofficial x Jimin. We are far from finished."
When an Instagram user and a fan, @13lver, commented under his post, enquiring what he meant by "far from finished," the American record producer replied that "there's always more work to be done."
This sent the entire BTS fandom down the rabbit hole of conjectures, theories, and speculations. They were quick to take the matter to X where they posted their reactions:
Prospect of BTS Jimin's second album release sets fans "heart beating faster"
For the uninitiated, American hip hop record producer, composer, and audio engineer, Austin Owens, is better known by his stage name, Ayo the Producer. Together with fellow producer Keyz, he is part of the duo, Ayo N Keyz.
Fans conjectured in November 2022 that Grammy Award recipient, Owens—who gained notoriety for Cardi B's viral hit song WAP—might work with Jimin on a solo album.
Additionally, it was noticed by several ARMYs that Austin Owens has followed the FACE singer-songwriter and another producer (Pdogg) of BigHit Music (now HYBE Labels).
Given that each member of the group has started promoting themselves independently this year, many fans are anticipating another solo album by the Like Crazy singer-songwriter to be released in 2024. Hence, the latest Instagram post and cryptic caption by Ayo The Producer further heightened speculations for a collaboration.
With Closer Than This set to arrive on December 22, Twitter users and ARMYs from every corner of the world tweeted their excitement:
It is noteworthy that Jimin had flown to Budapest on November 16, 2023, which had stirred the curiosity of his fan base. On the said date, the popular member of BTS—who is also the musician behind the acclaimed solo album, FACE— was spotted departing from Seoul's Incheon Airport for Budapest.
This relates to the singer's announcement on October 30, 2023, during his "Special Talk" Weverse LIVE presentation for Jimin's Production Diary, that he is working on a new project.
Soon after, BTS fans began posting speculation online about the purpose of the trip. They suspected that the singer-songwriter may have traveled to Budapest to record a music video for his next project.
